The
word Panchayat is made up of two words – “Panch”, meaning five, and “Ayat”,
meaning assembly. So, Panchayati Raj traditionally refers to a form of local
governance in India by five, or more, elders of an area to usually settle
disputes between individuals or villages. The leader of the group is called a
Mukhiya, Sarpanch or a Pradhan.
In 1992, a legislation
passed by the Parliament gave the institutional backing to the system. With the
Panchayati Raj Act (73rd Amendment) coming into force on April 24, 1993, states
were allowed to take steps to organize village panchayats and give them
necessary powers to function as units of self-government.
The first National
Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated in 2010 on this day and since then, it is an
annual affair. On this day, gram panchayats are awarded by the Union government
on the basis of their performance on several parameters in the preceding year.
The Panchayati Raj system works on three tiers –
The Village Panchayat is the lowest unit and it primarily consists of five representatives, including the Sarpanch, elected by the people of the village for a fixed five-year term. It is answerable to the general body of villagers, known as the Gram Sabha.
The second-tier Panchayat Samiti, having about 20 members, is elected by the members of panchayats and takes charge of all development work under its jurisdiction, usually covering 20-60 villages depending on the population of the area. The president of the Panchayat Samiti is called Pradhan and his/her deputy is known as the Up-pradhan.
And finally, the top-most tier of the Panchayati Raj system is called the Zilla Parishad. It consists of representatives of the Panchayat Samiti and district-level officers from various wings of the government. The Zilla Parishad mostly coordinates and supervises the development work already underway or proposed in the district by the Panchayat Samitis. The chairperson of the Zilla Parishad is elected from among its members.
